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Day Ten
One of the most interesting reactions I’ve ever had to a worship song happened one Sunday when we sang the great hymn of the church, “Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus.” After the service, one of our youth group members came up to me and expressed their frustration with these words:
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of His glory and grace
The question our curious young worshiper asked was this: “Do we really want the things of earth to grow dim?” They were concerned that the hymn was advocating an abdication of earthly responsibility, that it was encouraging followers of Jesus to have a “pie in the sky” attitude that ignored all the pain and injustice in the world.
I could not have been happier that a member of our youth group was thinking so deeply about the words that we sang on a Sunday. That level of engagement is very rare these days, sometimes even for adults.
And I completely understood the question. Too often we use our relationship with God as an excuse to escape from the very things that God would have us engage. Thankfully, that’s not what the hymn was encouraging, as I explained to my young friend. It’s a song about how we sometimes feel overwhelmed by that pain and suffering of this life, how sometimes our souls become “weary and troubled” and need a bit of perspective. It’s an echo of Paul’s words in Romans 8:
“I am convinced that any suffering we endure is less than nothing compared to the magnitude of glory that is about to be unveiled within us. The entire universe is standing on tiptoe, yearning to see the unveiling of God’s glorious sons and daughters! For against its will the universe itself has had to endure the empty futility resulting from the consequences of human sin. But now, with eager expectation, all creation longs for freedom from its slavery to decay and to experience with us the wonderful freedom coming to God’s children. To this day we are aware of the universal agony and groaning of creation, as if it were in the contractions of labor for childbirth. And it’s not just creation. We who have already experienced the firstfruits of the Spirit also inwardly groan as we passionately long to experience our full status as God’s sons and daughters—including our physical bodies being transformed. For this is the hope of our salvation.”—Romans 8:18-24 (TPT)
Paul’s picture of a creation that is groaning for redemption is a powerful one, and one that seems to resonate with reality more and more as we move through history. And his reminder that the sufferings we experience in this world will fade to nothing when we stand in God’s presence is one we definitely need from time to time—something Helen Howarth Lemmel, the writer of the original hymn “Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus” clearly understood.
But even as we embrace the message of this hymn, I don’t want to leave my young friend’s question behind. I believe that in those times when we are overwhelmed, when we turn our eyes to Jesus and find comfort in the midst of chaos and grief, receiving solace and peace that he alone can give…that is not the end of our journey. We turn to Jesus, and then as those who have been comforted and encouraged, we turn back out to a world that continues to hurt. It’s there that another passage of Paul comes to the forefront:
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.”—2 Corinthians 1:3-4 (NIV)
As we continue to ponder what it means to live as “Easter people,” may we find comfort as we “look full” in the wonderful face of our risen Savior. And may we give comfort as we continue to walk through a world that so desperately needs his glory and grace.
O God, our God, You are with us in darkness
Your Word, Your light, is leading us on
Our hearts can hear You Heavenly Father
Calling us all to Your Son
Read the rest of the lyrics here.
Questions for Reflection
1) How do you find yourself turning your eyes to Jesus? What does that look like in your life? What practices and tools help you turn your gaze to him?
2) When you spend time gazing upon Jesus, how do you imagine he looks at you? What do you see in his eyes and face?
3) What “things of earth” are sitting prominently in your life, sometimes keeping you from seeing Jesus clearly? Spend some time in prayer offering them to God and asking him for his divine perspective.
4) This song reminds us that God is with us in darkness, then by his word he leads us on into the world. In what ways has God encouraged you in dark times, and what encouragement might he offer through you out of that experience?
5) Read and reflect on this passage of Scripture. Let it lead you into prayerful worship and gratitude:
“One thing I ask from the Lord,
this only do I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,
to gaze on the beauty of the Lord
and to seek him in his temple.”—Psalm 27:4 (NIV)